Deeds not pretending

Artwork

CreatorShanley, Nichola NameDeeds not pretendingDate Made2024Object TypeSculptureMedium DescriptionPorcelain & gold lustreObject NumberLU337Dimensions200 mm h 170 mm d x 100 mm wFurther information'The Agnes Dei Collection calls on Shanley’s inner world and her attraction to the rub of contradiction: the sacred and the profane, pagan and Catholic motifs and memories, the simplicity of a white porcelain body and the obscurity of densely layered black stain. She excavates literature, myth, magic and her own mind, combining her findings into a luxurious visual language that is as much about ‘making’ as ‘meaning.’

The collection of vases and lamps here speak particularly to the prehistoric material of clay and its transformation in Shanley’s hands. Moulded, heated and coated through the rituals of her studio practice, she describes the material as an agent in her making; “form is inside the rock, inside the clay, and it’s in charge.”² Lustrous gold elicits the ornamentation of religious artefacts and palaces, but also this transformation – the alchemy needed to take something from raw to precious.

The Agnes Dei Collection celebrates nearly three-decades of refinement of Nichola Shanley’s craft and her unique contribution to creative practice in Aotearoa.' - Object Space
Artwork CopyrightAll rights reservedArt CollectionLincoln University Art Collection

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Deeds not pretending

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